Not Applicable.
An appendix is included herewith, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated by reference as if set forth at length herein.
1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates generally to container closures and, more particularly, to a closure for a flexible container which dispenses a flowable/viscous product when pressure is applied to the container and automatically closes when pressure is removed from the container.
2. Description of Related Art
Numerous valving-type closures are known in the art, examples of which include closures disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,550,132; 2,552,715; 2,667,992; 2,670,884; 3,273,754; 3,608,793; and 4,133,457.
While the forgoing closures are functional, each suffer from one or more drawbacks involving, for example, poor dispensing characteristics, lack of a truly drip-resistant seal, or else problems that have occurred with solidified product which tended to accumulate in the area of the slit and which interfere with or defeat proper valving operation of the closure.
The present invention is a solution to the forgoing unresolved problems and deficiencies of the prior art.
Therefore, in accordance with one aspect of the solution presented herein, there is generally provided designed to dispense a flowable product that is shipped and stored within a flexible wall container. In operation the container is turned upside down and pressure is applied to the outside container walls. A diaphragm affixed to the closure extends outward becoming convex and the internal product is dispensed automatically through a slit in the diaphragm. The entire inner and outer diaphragm area, including a nozzle, are molded as one piece in a soft flexible material with memory. The diaphragm is molded in a concave or inverted position and fused to the cap reservoir wall, by the means of a co-injection molding process. When the container is held in the inverted working position the internal contents move towards the inverted diaphragm. The internal liquids generated through syneresis or humidity changes will reach the inverted diaphragm or holding reservoir are a prior to the main body dollop. The unmixed liquid is drained from the interior walls or from the inverted diaphragm into the reservoir trap, as the product is dispensed.
These and other aspects, features and advantages of the solution presented herein will become better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings.